The Effect of Steriods in Major League Baseball Essay

Baseball is known as America’s pastime and is one of the most popular, respected sports on earth. Since the beginning of the sport, it seemingly advances with technology every year making faster and stronger players. The use of steroids became rampant and spread among players and has carried them away from the true history of the game they play. Controversy still today runs around the sport today about fines, punishments and record breaking. The past two decades of Major League Baseball have been tainted because of the use of performance enhancing drugs, also known as steroids, causing the loss of many fans and the true meaning of America’s favorite sport. In the early 80’s many professional players began to discover steroids, but Major†¦show more content†¦A suspension from an entire season and thousands of dollars of fine were issued and that seemed light with talks of being banned from baseball floating between the two parties. Major League Baseball took the right direction in the situation making an example of this group of players and especially Rodriguez (Quinn, Fish, and Gomez). This no tolerance policy could hopefully put a stop to the use of steroid in this great sport and get the game back to its original form. One of the most controversial subjects in Major League Baseball is that of hall of fame voting. Players who have tested positive should not be eligible for the hall of fame ballot. This is a great honor for players who are truly great and play the game the right way. The hall of fame has no room for players who try to gain unfair advantages through performance enhancing drugs. One of the greatest players of all time, Pete Rose, was denied from the Baseball Hall of Fame do betting on his games. This shows how seriously the voters take being inducted. Players who have tested positive for steroids should be banned from the hall of fame, which is what Major League Baseball is moving toward. Another issue is players who have broken records and tested positive for steroids during the period they broke the record. â€Å"Although increased speed and arm strength have also been linked to the use of steroids, home run statistics have glaringlyShow MoreRelatedAthletes and Steroid Use Essay1265 Words   |  6 Pages  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In recent history American culture has become more and more dominated by sports. Out of all of these sports baseball is considered to be Americas pastime. Over the last couple years Americas pastime has come under scrutiny about some of its players using anabolic steroids and other performance enhancing drugs. In an interview with Sports Illustrated, Major League Baseball commissioner Bud Selig said,  ¡Ã‚ §... hopefully we can figure out ways to solve this problem. It needs to be solved. ThereRead MorePerformance Enhancing Drugs Should Be Banned in Professional Sports2737 Words   |  11 Pages In 2013, 12 Major League Baseball players each received fifty game suspensions without pay for using performance enhancing drugs. Big names such as Ryan Braun and Alex Rodriguez were on this list. Testosterone, an illegal substance, is what is found in the performance enhancing drugs. Testosterone increases male characteristics such as body hair , aggression, deepening of the voice, and of course massive muscle growth (â€Å"Steroids† par. 1). Some professional athletes claim to use performance enhancing

Stefan’s Diaries The Craving Chapter 13 Free Essays

That night I lay in bed, gazing up at the ceiling. The moon shone through the gauzy white curtains, and the house hummed with activity, a melee of footsteps, heartbeats, and mice skittering inside the walls. It felt as though the entire house were alive, with the exception, of course, of myself and Damon. We will write a custom essay sample on Stefan’s Diaries: The Craving Chapter 13 or any similar topic only for you Order Now The Sutherlands had no idea, but when they’d opened their home to me, they had invited Death in. I was a cancer on their happy existence, and soon the darkness would spread, eating through their world until there was nothing left. Though I was no willing participant in Damon’s twisted plan, it would be no different from how Katherine insinuated herself into my life and decimated the entire Salvatore family. Like it or not, this family’s well-being rested squarely on my shoulders. If Damon killed them, their blood would be on my hands, too. But how could I stop him? I was so much weaker than my brother, and I had no plans to begin feeding on humans again for fear that I’d be unable to stop. I rose from bed and pushed the curtains aside with a violent flick. As I stared at the moon, that orb that had witnessed so much of my ill-doing, I replayed the conversation we’d had with Margaret over and over in my head. The firm set of her jaw. The clear tone of her eyes. The way her lucid blue eyes had sized up me and Damon, as though she could see straight through our skin to our unbeating hearts. Winfield was ready to sign his fortune over to Damon, yet his daughter remained immune to my brother’s Power. But how? The only protection I knew against vampires was vervain, but I’d not inhaled its cloying scent since arriving in New York. When trying to draw out Katherine, my father had spiked my whiskey with vervain, sending Katherine into a miasmic fit when she drank my blood. If only my father had thought to protect me sooner, he and I might still be in Mystic Falls, poring over accounting books as I studied to take over Veritas. Sliding the window open, I stepped out onto the narrow balcony. The night was eerily still. No wind rustled the trees, and even the pigeons that roosted on the neighbor’s roof were quiet. My balcony faced east, toward the muddy East River and the narrow spit of land they called Blackwell’s Island, where the city had recently rebuilt the lunatic asylum. A wry smile twisted my lips. If only I could check Damon in there. But then I let out a groan and clutched the wrought-iron rail with my hands. I had to stop wishing and hoping and thinking of millions of if onlys. I could not wish Damon into oblivion and I could not rewrite the past. What was done was done. Even at my peak Power, I could not cause the world to spin backward, could not turn back time and undo what Katherine did to me and my family. But I was not powerless over the future. I had free will, I had experience, and I had the choice to fight. Hoisting myself up on the rail, I leaped to the roof, landing on the tar with a soft thud. New York was a large city, and someone, somewhere, had to grow vervain or at least have dried sprigs. I’d run up and down the streets until I caught the telltale scent of the herb. Spiking Lydia’s drinks would be impossible – Damon was feeding from her – but if I could just sprinkle some in Winfield’s whiskey†¦ I ran across the roof, preparing to jump to that of the neighbor, before scaling down their fire escape to the street below. â€Å"Where are you going, brother?† The cheery words sliced through the night like gunshot, and I froze on the ledge. Slowly, I turned around to face a smiling Damon. He looked ready for the second part of his evening jaunt, wearing a three-piece suit and twirling a gold cane in his hand. I recognized it immediately – it had belonged to Callie’s father, the man who had imprisoned Damon, torturing him and starving him before forcing him to do battle with a mountain lion. Damon must have stolen it after he killed Callie. Unbidden, an image of Callie bloomed in my mind. Her kind green eyes smiling at me, the freckles that dusted every inch of her body, the way she had so bravely given herself to me on the shore of the lake, offering her blood even though she knew what I was and what I could do to her†¦. Her dead, twisted body lying in the grass behind Lexi’s house. â€Å"You bastard,† I said in a low, fury-filled voice that I barely recognized as my own. Rage that had been building for weeks with no outlet tore through my veins, and I felt as though my muscles were on fire. With a growl, I threw myself at him. â€Å"Why won’t you just let me be?† Our bodies collided, like stone on stone. Startled, Damon fell backward, but instantly he pushed me off and flipped to his feet. He wrapped his arms around my neck with a vise-like grip. â€Å"If you were so desperate to be free of me, you shouldn’t have forced me to become a vampire with you,† he hissed, all traces of joviality gone from his demeanor. I struggled to free myself, but his knee pressed more forcefully into my spine, pinning me to the roof. â€Å"You were the one who urged me to become what I am – to see what Katherine gave us as a gift rather than a curse.† â€Å"Trust me,† I gasped, trying to twist from his grip. â€Å"I would take it back if I could.† â€Å"Tsk-tsk,† Damon chided. â€Å"Didn’t Father teach you that part of being a man is living with your choices?† He pressed my cheek into the tar roof, scraping open the skin there. â€Å"Then again, you were such a disappointment to him at the end – not wanting to marry Rosalyn, taking up with a vampire, killing him†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"You were always a disappointment,† I spat. â€Å"I should have killed you when I had the chance.† Damon let out a dry laugh. â€Å"Well, that would have been a shame, because then I couldn’t do this.† The pressure on my spine abated as Damon hoisted me up by the back of the shirt. â€Å"What are you – † I started. Before I could finish, Damon launched me forward with the force of a lit cannon. My body careened through the night air, and for a brief, weightless moment, I wondered if I was flying. Then the hard pavement of the alley between the Sutherlands’ and their neighbor’s home rushed up to greet me, and my bones cracked loudly on the impact. I groaned, pain radiating through my limbs as I rolled to my back, blood dripping down my face. I lay like that for hours, staring at the stars until my Power healed me, resetting my bones and stitching up the gash in my cheek more swiftly than the most skilled medic could. But when I stood, a new pain shot through my chest. Because there on the brick wall of the Sutherlands’ home, written in red ink that could only be blood, were three terrifying words: I’m always watching. How to cite Stefan’s Diaries: The Craving Chapter 13, Essay examples

Dubliners-Symbolism of Fire free essay sample

In James Joyce’s novel Dubliners, Joyce incorporates fire and flames; however Joyce’s use of fire is not to shed light on the jovial atmosphere of Dublin. Rather Joyce’s pervasive use of flame in a minor state and its noticeable absence, serves to exemplify the decaying nature of Dublin as well as the enervation and dissipation of the spirits and moral of its inhabitants. Fire has had its roots mutually tied to humanity since the dawn of both forces and subsequently epitomizes the hope, faith and innovation of man. In Greek mythology the titan Prometheus brought fire to mankind, an act, which signaled the age of humanity. Though the veracity of such a legend is dubitable there is no doubt that the presence of control of fire has enabled humans to better themselves; by allowing them to advance in technology, to survive in the harsh world of cold and predators. We will write a custom essay sample on Dubliners-Symbolism of Fire or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page In society, fire has come to signify action, love, power, and justice. Flames project protection and haven from the ever-present cold and from the dangers of the world. However fire is not merely limited to the physical substantiate but also the metaphorical and figurative realms. The blaze inside an individual signifies the motivation, the indicative drive to carry on and succeed in the face of difficulty or struggle. The polar opposite of fire is the cold, which is especially prevalent in Dubliners because of the absence of flame. The cold is somber and grim, portraying the stark bleakness of the world and the uniformity that comes with its harbinger; snow. Snow covers all, blanketing the ground in a white sheen, devoid of color, that deprives the world self-expression and action. Joyce makes frequent and effective use of both the flame and the cold and their respective symbolisms with his novel Dubliners. The minute role of fire shows the fading moral principles and the dissipating collective spirit of Dublin’s inhabitants. The young narrator of The Sisters comes home to â€Å"Old Cotter†¦sitting at the fire† (pg1), whom the narrator regards as a â€Å"tiresome old fool† (pg1), and is infuriated by Old Cotter’s crude remarks about the â€Å"peculiar [case]† (pg1) between Father Flynn and the narrator’s. The fire hearth, which usually represents the hospitality of home, is instead occupied by a cantankerous man, who insults the narrator’s actions and desecrates the fireplace by spitting â€Å"rudely into the grate† (pg2). This nondescript, non-active presence that fire holds as it is blocked by a negative force is representative of the dying spirit of Dublin’s inhabitants and the hostility that resides in the city. The nearly undetectable presence of fire is also displayed in the story Ivy Day in the Committee Room. Flames play a major role in the overarching theme of the story. The fire a â€Å"whitening dome of coals† is feebly burning as the men in the room argue politics and nationalism (pg115). However none of the men take action during the intercourse, instead passively accepting their individual predicaments. The flame of the room is dying and consequently so is the motivation of Dublin to push for political change. The men are uninterested in actually completing their assignments, instead waiting for alcohol and pay, all the while gossiping behind the backs of each other. To add insult to injury is the fire’s representation of Parnell, Ireland’s deceased nationalistic-political leader. The flames, reflective of Parnell roaring fervor for action, which once inspired generations of Irish to rise to push for independence, have been reduced to a smoldering wreck used for trivial matters such as opening bottles of stout. This dying flame is used as a marker that laments the pitiful state of paralysis that encompasses Dublin and its inhabitants. Fire, a symbol for hope, has only a minor role in Dublin, a reflection of the lack of hope and faith within the city. The absence of fire and the subsequent presence of its opposite, cold, in Dubliners show the unquenchable anger, futility and moral depravity of Dublin’s inhabitants. In The Boarding House the stigmatized relationship between Polly and Mr. Doran is set off when Polly sneaks into Doran’s room with the intent â€Å"to relight her candle at his†(pg62). The absence of fire in this scene becomes the catalyst that ensnares Mr. Doran within the deceptive plan of Polly and Mrs. Mooney, a marriage in which neither Mr. Doran nor Polly seems to find happiness in. This lack of fire serves as a marker of the moral depravity within Dublin as Polly’s desire to relight her candle digresses into a much more insidious action. The lack of fire within the stories also shows the obstinate anger that harbors within the soul of Dublin’s inhabitants. Within Counterparts Farrington comes home to a â€Å"kitchen empty and [a] fire nearly out†(pg93). His body already brimming with anger the dying fire becomes the last straw for Farrington as he begins to ruthlessly beat his innocent son to â€Å"teach [his son] to [let the fire out] again†(pg94). This cruel, unjustified action, once again literally the result of the absence of fire within the scene, connects the anger that is apparent in Dublin with the absence of warmth and hope. The presence of coldness and snow in the story, both of which result from a lack of fire or heat, shows the hopelessness and dreary life of Dublin. In A Painful Case Mr. Duffy is left out in â€Å"a cold gloomy† night separated from the â€Å"the lights [of Dublin] which [burn] redly†, an image which invokes what fire is left (pg113). Out in the cold and excommunicated from both the heat of Dublin and the fire of passion Mr. Duffy is transfixed by his epiphany in which he realizes that â€Å"he [is] alone†(pg114). The cold night devoid of any heat underscores the loneliness of Mr. Duffy and generalizes the unanimous emptiness in all of Dublin. In The Dead snow is used as a symbol to express the dreariness of life in Dublin. As Gabriel lingers on the boundaries between consciousness and sleep his realization of the â€Å"snow general all over Ireland† spawns his helplessness as he feels â€Å"his own identity†¦fading out into a grey impalpable world† (pg225). The snow punctuates the chill of Dublin in its frozen paralytic state. In Dublin, the fire of hope and action has been extinguished from both the homes of its inhabitants and from the city itself, leaving the community to struggle with the merciless cold and snow that remains behind. Fire is an inseparable aspect of human culture, raised from the cradle of civilization and carried into the modern age. The merits of fire allowed for humanity to take advantage over the forces of nature; allowed for humans to invent in the safety of light; fueled the machinery of technology. The recessive, minimal role that fire plays in Dubliners shows the forsaken city of Dublin, lost in the haze of paralysis, it’s collective spirit failing. Dublin a vast city which should have a brightly burning fire; a heat in which the citizens should strive to improve in is instead slowly freezing over, lost to the white snow that falls to cover the living and the dead in an internal stasis. Fire, a symbol of justice, love and power, is twisted into a grotesque motif, representing avarice, languish, and irony. The lack of fire serves to show that here is no hope for a rekindling of the flame, how the inhabitants of Dublin are content to live out in the perpetual murk of paralysis. For in Dublin the flames which powered the city have long gone out leaving an empty shell of a city, devoid of enthusiasm, behind, slowly being consumed by the cold and fading into the lethargy of darkness.